We knew that the solar-powered Solar Impulse 2 — currently on an almost literally Icarusian flight around the world — was badly damaged on its record-breaking flight from Japan to Hawaii last week. But today we learned that the extent of the damage is so severe it will ground the craft until next year.

12 July 2015

The Solar Impulse 2 trucked so hard on its record breaking, non-stop flight from Japan to Hawaii, it seems to have overheated its lithium ion batteries. The plane is now grounded for the next two-three weeks while engineers work to fix the damage and determine whether new parts will be needed to get the Impulse airborne once more.

4 July 2015

The Solar Impulse solar-powered plane touched down today in Hawaii, at the end of a record-setting flight across the Pacific. Attention and praise are quite rightly going to be heaped on pilot André Borschberg, who will have been peeing into a funnel for 120 hours straight. But behind the scenes, Solar Impulse is also the work of a giant logistical operation that would put a space mission to shame.

2 June 2015

In its bid to fly round the world using just solar power, the Solar Impulse team yesterday took off on an 8000km journey across the Pacific, from China to Hawaii. Now, it’s abandoning the current flight due to bad weather.

1 June 2015

Google’s solar powered Internet drone may have just tanked in a desert, but other sun-powered fliers are still going strong, including the Solar Impulse plane, which has just taken off on a nearly 5000 mile journey across the Pacific, from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii.

30 April 2015

The solar-powered aeroplane Solar Impulse is heading toward one of the most difficult phases of its around-the-globe flight: crossing the Pacific Ocean. That means the pilot will have to sit for five days and nights in the confined cockpit of the plane. As you can see, it’s not particularly luxurious.

23 April 2015

Yesterday, the solar-powered aeroplane Solar Impulse successfully touched down in Nanjing, China, completing the Asian leg of its global trip. Next, though, comes one of the toughest parts of the journey: crossing the Pacific Ocean.

22 January 2015

Last year, the team behind Solar Impulse 2 revealed the design of a plane that it hopes will be able to traverse the world without refuelling. Now, it’s revealed the route it will take when it takes off — which will hopefully be in March.

10 April 2014

You’ve probably heard about the ambitious, almost impossible-sounding project to fly a solar-powered plane around the world without refueling. But now, about a year before the voyage is scheduled to begin, you get your first look at the plane itself. It’s unlike any plane you’ve seen before.